at a woman during an argument A lone index finger held vertically is often used to represent the
number 1 (but
finger counting differs across cultures), or when held up or moved side to side (finger-wagging), it can be an admonitory gesture. If held upward, it can also mean "wait a minute" or "one moment". With the hand held palm out and the thumb and middle fingers touching, it represents the letter
d in the
American Sign Language alphabet.
Pointing Pointing with the pointer finger may be used to indicate or identify an item, person, place or object. Around age one, babies begin pointing to communicate relatively complex thoughts, including interest, desire, and information. Pointing in human babies can demonstrate the
theory of mind, or ability to understand what other people are thinking. This gesture may form one basis for the development of human language. Non-human primates, lacking the ability to formulate ideas about what others are thinking, use pointing in much less complex ways. However,
corvids,
dogs and
elephants do understand finger pointing. In some cultures, particularly the
Malays and
Javanese in
Southeast Asia, pointing using the index finger is considered rude, hence the
thumb is used instead.
Index finger in Islam In Islam raising the index finger signifies the
Tawhīd (تَوْحِيد), which denotes the indivisible oneness of
God. It is used to express the unity of God. In
Arabic, the index or fore finger is called musabbiḥa (مُسَبِّحة), mostly used with the definite article: al-musabbiḥa (الْمُسَبِّحة). Sometimes also as-sabbāḥa (السَّبّاحة) is used. The Arabic verb سَبَّحَ - which shares the same root as the Arabic word for index finger - means to praise or glorify God by saying: "Subḥāna Allāh" (سُبْحانَ الله). ==Gestures in art==